Mildew & peeling paint patches on walls General decorating topics, questions and answers. find help, tips and advice on completing your decorating projects

[jopugh]

Hi...me again...

We have a downstairs loo & laundry room which was built 3 years ago and as far as I can see had a fairly swift paint job over the new plaster.

Over the last year the paint has been peeling in patches back to the plaster, mainly just above the skirting, but also head height. These patches don't feel damp and there's no mildew. However, in other areas, i.e. window sill, and the wall right next to the washing machine, there are areas of black mildew, this is fairly recent.

Any ideas on how to deal with this problem? With the peeling paint, can I just sand down and repaint? With the mildew can I prepare the areas with mildew remover or bleach, then re paint or will I need to look into the problem further?

Thanks.

[theshedman]

Hi, on the mildew patches do as you say and put on a mould and mildew remover such as the Dettox one, which I find works very well. You will probably find that the mould is due to a lack of ventilation and possibly not enough heat in the room.

The paint is most probably peeling due to the first coat being put on too thickly or the area being over trowelled when it was plastered . If you scrape off as much of the loose stuff as possible then sand lightly just in case the wall was over trowelled which may prevent the paint from adhering properly. After doing this give the areas a mist coat or 2 before giving whe whole wall 2 top coats. Good luck with it.

[jopugh]

Thanks The shed man for your reply, very helpful.

Could you just explain what a mist coat is?

Jo

[theshedman]

Hi jopugh, a mist coat is a watered down first coat of emulsion to help the paint adhere to the plaster. If the first coat is put on straight from the tin it wont soak into the plaster as it will just dry on the surface then at some time in the future it is likely to peel and you will find it very hard to put on anyway as it will dry out far too quickly. Just water the first coat by about 25% and you will find it goes on a lot better. Good luck with it. Shed.

[jopugh]

Thanks Shed

One last question before I head off to Homebase! I'm also painting my skirting and door frames and would like to buy paint for both jobs.

If I buy an all-in-one primer and undercoat for my woodwork, could I also use this paint for doing a mist coat on my walls?

If yes, could you recommend a good paint to buy?

Thanks!

Jo

[theshedman]

Hi Jo, the answer to this one would be no. Primer/Undercoat is for woodwork, metalwork or both but not walls. The best thing to do would be to use some of the emulsion you are doing the walls with and water that down. That way the finish coats you put on will cover better.